My latest — a one-of-a-kind tote bag, created for the upcoming auction to raise money for the outstanding pitbull rescue group, Even Chance. The San Diego-based group is devoted to re-educating the public about these exceptional dogs and helping temperamentally sound, abandoned pitties get a second chance at forever homes.

The “Pittie in the City” tote bag is an homage to the over-the-top style of “Sex and the City,” a show I rarely watched but wrote tons of ad copy for back in my copywriting days. The show was okay, but the clothes were so much fun!!! And if there’s one thing people should know about pitbulls it’s that they are FUN! Smudge, my pit-mix (looking unusually serious, below), is just as much of a puppy now, at age 9, as she was at nine months. Forget the nonsense about them all being dangerous. When they’re treated with love and respect, it’s just their nature to be little clowns.

My dog Smudge, part pit bull, part goof ball

Anyway, back to the tote bag …Not long ago, this bag was a pair of vintage velvet pants, just begging to be deconstructed. The front of the bag (shown up top) can be dressed up or down, with the removable flower and bow, all made of scrap fabric. It’s lined with recycled black fleece, so it’s pretty durable and easy to clean.

The other side (below) has a cell-phone (or dog treat) sized pocket with a hand-made “button” closure. I embroidered the pocket with cotton and metallic black and gold yarn, so it wouldn’t get lost in the black velvet surroundings.

Bag from the back showing pocket

At the last minute, just as I was about to mail the bag to the organizer, inspiration struck — how about a matching dog collar decoration? So I made one (below):

but wait, there's more ...a matching flower for your dog's collar!

The dog collar flower is equipped with a velvet cord loop on the back. You can slip it on (or off) easily, so you and your pupster can get some style on together.

And now the bag and decoration are in New York, where they’ll be photographed for the Even Chance auction. As soon as there’s a link, I’ll post it. Thirty-plus other artists have designed bags for the fund-raiser, so there are going to be some fabulous pieces! In the meantime, you can check out all the contributors’ bios at artforpitties.

This little purse is kind of cute — at least in person. But for some reason, it’s not photographing very well.

It’s knit from recycled silk sari yarn, which I love to use, since it means income for women in remote areas of Nepal, who otherwise don’t have many options for earning money. Plus, it’s reversible!

The fuzzy pink material is from an old top I found at a thrift store. It’s a nice little everyday purse, very eco-friendly and all. But for some reason, it does not photograph well. I should probably fire my photographer, but since I am my photographer, that’s not a really good solution. Halp!!

Share this:

Like this:

That title’s supposed to be sung to the tune of the Temptations’ “My Girl,” by the way. And, yes, I do looooooove my bag. Here she is:

This might be one of those offspring that only a mother can love. I don’t know for certain, because I can’t be objective about it at all. Here’s why:

This is the first bag I ever made out of an old sweater. It took months of trying to figure out what should go where and how … all that stuff that now seems like a no-brainer.

But it did get finished. And it’s totally impractical — the interior is lined in lime green silk (what was I thinking??) and there are no pockets at all. The drawstring doesn’t function all that well, either. But I really learned a LOT by making this bag — plus I was emboldened by this “success” to continue tearing apart sweaters and making other things out of them. Go figure …

The bottom line is this odd little bag will always have a place in my heart and on my shoulder. Plus, I prevented another person from ever having to wear a sweater that made it look like you had curlicues of blond hair growing on your chest. (Yes, those little golden curls were part of the original sweater — ewwwwww!!)